धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
बहूनि सुविचित्राणि द्वंद्वयुद्धानि संजय ॥
त्वयोक्तानि निशम्याहं स्पृहयामि सचक्षुषाम् ॥
आश्चर्यभूतं लोकेषु कथयिष्यन्ति मानवाः ॥
कुरूणां पाण्डवानां च युद्धं देवासुरोपमम् ॥
न हि मे तृप्तिर् अस्तीह शृण्वतो युद्धम् उत्तमम् ॥
तस्माद् आर्तायनेर् युद्धं सौभद्रस्य च शंस मे ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
bahūni suvicitrāṇi dvaṃdvayuddhāni saṃjaya ||
tvayoktāni niśamyāhaṃ spṛhayāmi sacakṣuṣām ||
āścaryabhūtaṃ lokeṣu kathayiṣyanti mānavāḥ ||
kurūṇāṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ ca yuddhaṃ devāsuropamam ||
na hi me tṛptir astīha śṛṇvato yuddham uttamam ||
tasmād ārtāyaner yuddhaṃ saubhadrasya ca śaṃsa me ||
[Dhritarashtra:] Many wondrous duels, O Sanjaya, have you described; having heard [of them], I envy those who have seen [this] with their own eyes. As a marvel in these worlds shall mortals tell of this war of the Kauravas and Pandavas, resembling [the] battle of gods and asuras. There is no satiation for me as I hearken to this incomparable combat; therefore tell me of the duel of Artayani [Shalya] and Saubhadra [Abhimanyu].
e4dfa8cdab3c · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:04 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The blind king "envies the sighted" — a bitter irony: deprived of eyes, he longs to see what he will never see, and feeds his ears in place of his sight. But deeper still, his "no satiation" exposes a mind riveted to the tale of a battle in which his own cause perishes: the passion for hearing of the war is the reverse side of his guilt in it. It is telling that he calls the war a "marvel, [like a] battle of gods and asuras" — unwittingly recognizing its cosmic, superhuman meaning. The verse teaches that bodily blindness is an image of spiritual blindness, one that failed to see the truth in time; that insatiable curiosity toward another's misfortune does not heal but chafes the wound; and that the greatest earthly battles are the earthly reflection of the eternal war between light and darkness.